Always
by Kalegria
Summary: She was almost ready to give up on him. Well, almost.
1. Her Side

***SLAP***

Juvia just watched as her so-called boyfriend walked away and put his hand around another girl's waist.

"Sigh. Well, Juvia can't really blame him." She said as she ran a hand through her red left cheek. "After all, I'd be lying to myself if I actually believe what I spat out earlier." She could only stare at a certain raven-haired man, far from where she stood, laughing with his friends.

* * *

_"Come on, babe. Just one kiss." Bora said as he tried kissing Juvia again for the nth time that day._

_"B-but Bora-kun, we're in the campus. You know we're dead if someone sees us." She tried to reason out._

_ "I really don't give a damn about them. Come on. Don't be such a tease."  
_

_His face inched towards Juvia. Closer and closer, but his lips met her cheek instead. He looked her in the eyes and saw that she was slightly tensed, looking to the side as if searching for someone. He followed her line of sight and saw that she was looking at a group of people, with a certain irritating boy with them.  
_

_"So that's how it is." he blurted out as he released Juvia's waist from his grip. "Is that why you're going all virgin type on me? Huh? Because of that stripper?"  
_

_Juvia snapped her head towards Bora's direction. "No! That's not it at all! You know I don't love him anymore!"  
_

_She felt Bora's eyes scan her face for a bit. "I bet if he's the one kissing you, you'd be damn well pleased! We've been going on this for months now, Juvia. You know I don't like waiting. Especially if I know that you'd jump right at him the moment he strides past you."  
_

_"No! Why are you saying this? I told you Juvia's already gotten over Gray-sam-"  
_

_*slap*_

* * *

'There it goes. I let it slip again.' she thought as she kept rubbing her left cheek, waiting for the pain to magically disappear. 'It's better this way, though. At least someone keeps on reminding me not to go all Gray-sama-crazy again.'

*Bzzt. Bzzt* Juvia snapped out of her thoughts as she felt her mobile phone vibrate in her pocket. She got a text from Gajeel.

_'Hey, crazy woman! I have football training today_  
_ so I can't walk home with you. You fine on your_  
_ own or d'you want me to ditch practice today?'_ \- Gajeel

_'I'm fine on my own. Besides, a lot of students_  
_ live near our house. Have fun on practice!'_ \- Juvia

'Silly Gajeel-kun, thinking I'd make him skip training just to walk home with me.' She was already walking out of the campus when she was slightly pulled backwards by a pair of hands. Apparently, she was going to walk straight to a pole without noticing it.

"Wow, either you're thinking deeply or you're going blind for walking straight to that pole alright." Gray said, amused.

"Ju-Juvia was just- I wasn- I- the post-." She babbled.

Gray laughed. "It's okay, y'know. Just don't go bumping into other poles next time." He said, smiling.

"Yes!" Juvia said rather too quickly.

"Hey, listen. About Bora. I thought I saw you two earlier and did he-"

"Sorry! Juvia forgot she's got an errand to do! Bye!" Juvia dashed off leaving a stunned Gray behind.

She hid on the alley on the next street and tried to compose herself. Just now, she realized what she did and instantly felt embarrassed. What was she doing running from her Gray-sama- ...Gray-kun, whilst he was most probably just going to ask her something simple? No. No. She over acted but she really didn't want to bother Gray with anything about Bora.

She didn't know why exactly she had to run. But boy, who was she kidding? She knew exactly why she ran away...

"I can't keep looking at those eyes again..." And with that, a single tear escaped from her eye.

* * *

Hi guys! I'm new to this sort of stuff so it'd be really nice if you could give me reviews so I can improve on this story. Comments and suggestions are very much welcome! By the way, English is not my first language so forgive me if you see some grammatical errors along the way. Thank you!


	2. His Side

Gray was sitting on one of the benches they had in the school grounds, laughing, and joking with his friends as usual. He was having a good time at least until he saw Bora strolling down the hall, not very far from where they sat, with his hand draped around the waist of the girl he was with.

The group's laughter was cut off when Gray suddenly asked, "Are Juvia and Bora still together?"

Loke turned to where Gray was looking at and saw that Bora was holding a girl. He wasn't the smartest, but he knew very well that the said guy was clearly flirting with the girl he was with. He muttered a "Tch." before turning back to his group again, not wanting to look at such an annoying sight. Loke was known to be a playboy but he surely didn't hit on other girls every time he had a girlfriend.

Natsu and Elfman didn't even look at the sight and just shook their heads in disapproval.

"Good thing Gajeel's not here. We know very well what would happen to that douche if Gajeel witnessed what just happened right now." Jellal said, somewhat relieved but still a bit irritated with what they just saw.

"That Bora isn't being a man!" Elfman commented.

"Kinda wish metal-face was here." Natsu said.

"Yeah, that dick could really use some beating right now. Such a dick-face dick." Loke added.

"Why don't Juvia just break up with that guy? I mean, what's there to lose? He's clearly not someone worth holding on to." Gray butted in.

Jellal answered, "Apparently, Juvia doesn't want to. I kinda overheard Gajeel talking to her about how stupid she was for even thinking about starting a relationship with Bora. She just told him that she needed to move on and find someone new or something."

"Did she have a boyfriend before him?", Gray buzzed.

The boys stared at him all at the same time. Natsu was the one who broke the silence. "Seriously, Gray. Just how dense can you be?"

"We're in our fourth year already and you still don't know?" Elfman commented.

"Know what? And I'm not dense! That coming from you, flame-brain? I'm clearly insulted!" Gray dramatically put his hand on his forehead and acted disgusted.

"Oh yeah? You wanna go at it ice-princess?" Natsu answered back.

"Stupid slanty eyes!"

"Droopy eyes!"

Loke, Jellal, and Elfman just watched as their two dumb friends went at it again like it was such a normal thing.

* * *

After "fighting" with Natsu, Gray let the other guys head on to football practice first and went on to find his lost shirt. "Damn Ul for this stripping habit." Gray kept looking for his shirt until he spotted it near a tree. "How did this even get here?" Gray said both exasperated and impressed with how much he unconsciously strips everywhere.

He put his shirt on and decided to go to training when a familiar set of blue locks grazed past his eyes. He saw Juvia walking at the hall, obviously in deep thought. He went after her and pulled her backwards slightly just before she hit the pole in front of her.

"Wow, either you're thinking deeply or you're going blind for walking straight to that pole alright." Gray said, amused.

"Ju-Juvia was just- I wasn- I- the post-." Juvia tried to come up with words.

Gray laughed. 'She's cute when she does that.'

"It's okay, y'know. Just don't go bumping into other poles next time." He said, smiling.

"Yes!" Juvia replied.

'Might as well ask her about what happened earlier.'

"Hey, listen. About Bora. I thought I saw you two earlier and did he-"

"Sorry! Juvia forgot she's got an errand to do! Bye!" and she dashed off.

'Really? Just like that?' Gray thought.

"Oi stripper!" Gajeel called while running towards Gray. "Coach told me to drag your late ass to practice. Said he'll kick you outta the team if you take one more minute before you go there."

"Tch. Race you there, metal-head." Gray answered back.

Gajeel glared at him but ran to practice nonetheless.

'I miss the old Juvia.' Gray thought as he dashed towards the football field.

* * *

Hi guys! I'm still trying to build the story up and I want this first encounter to give off a glimpse of Juvia and Gray's relationship by showing this part from both of their views. :) Thank you guys for the reviews on the first chapter! Those type of stuff really encourage me to try and do better. Comments and reviews are very much appreciated! I'm already working on the next chapter since I still have free time now. But most likely, I won't be able to update this week since it's our exam week. It's really hard to deal with university stuff. Actually, I started writing this story so I could relieve myself from some of the stress. Okay, enough babbling hahaha. You guys are such amazing readers!

I changed some parts here. I can't believe I forgot to include that last line when in fact, it's supposed to be kind of the highlight of the chapter. T_T


	3. My Feelings For You

_'Go on ahead, girls. I'm_  
_just gonna buy a drink.  
See you __at Mira's!'_ -Cana

"Cana-san just texted me. She said we can go on ahead without her. She'll go to Mira-chan's on her own." Juvia told her friends as she put her phone back in her bag.

It's the last Saturday of the month and the girls are excited for another one of their monthly slumber parties. This time, to be held at Mira's apartment.

When they got to her place, Mira dragged Erza to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Lucy went straight to the living room and turned the TV on while Juvia and Levy sat on the couch.

"Hey Mira, where's Lisanna?" Levy asked.

"Lisanna and Kinana will be spending the night at Laki's to finish a project." Mira answered from the kitchen.

Minutes later, Cana arrived. "Hey guys, a little help here!" She said as she swung open the door while holding a bag with two bottles of wine, and another couple of bags with lots of chips inside.

"Wow, Cana. This sure is a lot." Lucy noticed as she took one bag from Cana's hand.

"Oh, Mira asked me to buy these so we'd have something to munch on later." Cana winked.

They ate dinner together and after taking care of the dishes, the six ladies went to Mira's bedroom and started talking about their remaining time in high school.

"Wow, we only have three months left 'til high school ends." Mira said while braiding Juvia's hair.

Erza nodded. "Yeah. I can't believe we've already been friends for how many years."

"Well, time really flies fast when we're having fun." Lucy chimed in.

"I'm so glad Juvia and Gajeel transferred to our school. It wouldn't have been the same without you guys." Levy said.

"If I know, I'm sure Levy's just ecstatic that she met Gajeel. You two can be really lovey-dovey sometimes. Makes me wanna puke every time I see Gajeel act like a softie." Cana teased Levy.

"It wouldn't have made a difference if Juvia transferred with him or not." Juvia feigned hurt.

"Ju-chan! You know that's not true!" Levy exclaimed.

The girls laughed at Levy's reaction. Cana was the one who broke the laughter. "How about you, Juvia?"

"Me?" Juvia buzzed.

"Yeah. How are things going between you and Gray?" Cana raised her brows.

Mira shot Cana a look.

"Cana, it's not right to talk about another guy when Juvia has a boyfriend." Erza pointed out.

"It's alright Erza-san." Juvia spoke. "It's not like I keep it a secret from you guys anyway."

"You know, Ju-chan, you can always tell us if something's bothering you." Levy told her.

"We're all ears, Juvia." Mira said, smiling.

"Well, I'm actually planning on asking him to the dance. Since it's our last and all. I wanna have a proper closure with Gray-sama, even though I don't think it matters to him as much as it matters to me." Juvia said the last part more like a whisper, but the girls heard her clearly. She gave them all a smile.

"Now, who's up for spin the bottle?" Lucy shouted and the girls instantly became excited.

Juvia shook her thoughts about Gray out of her head and just focused on having fun with her best friends.

* * *

_'Gray-kun! Can Juvia talk to you  
__after class today?'_ -Juvia

_'Sure! What's it about?'_ -Gray

_'I'll tell you when we meet._  
_Does 4PM at the field sound_  
_fine?'_ -Juvia

_'Yup. See you!'_ -Gray

_'See you!'_ -Juvia

* * *

"Juvia! Over here!" Gray waved his hand as he called Juvia from where he sat in the field.

Juvia turned and saw Gray waving at her. 'Ah, there's Gray-sama'. Juvia waved back at Gray and walked to where he was seated. 'Stupid Juvia, stop calling Gray-sama, Gray-sama. He's Gray-kun!' Gray motioned for her to sit beside him.

"So, what's it that you wanted to talk about?" Gray asked Juvia.

"A-ano, Juvia was just wondering if Gray-sama is going to the dance?" Juvia mentally smacked herself for letting the suffix -sama slip again.

"Yeah! How about you?"

"Juvia is going as well. Are you going to attend with someone?"

"Yup. I'm bringing Enno. You've met her, right?" Gray said.

At that, Juvia froze. But she immediately collected herself. "Yes!" she answered. 'And I've heard a lot about her too. Like your... relationship with her.' Juvia thought to herself.

"Who are you going with?" He asked her.

"Ehrm, I'm going with the girls since Bora isn't going and he wouldn't really like it if Juvia went with someone else."

"You're still with that dick, huh?" Gray asked her. "We really don't like your relationship with him. We know what's going on y'know."

Juvia remained silent for moment. "Bora-kun is really nice. He's just short-tempered sometimes."

Gray put his hand on Juvia's shoulder. "If you need anything, we're always here, alright?"

Juvia was still enjoying the contact when...

"Gray! Let's go!" Enno was at the other side of the field, waving at Gray.

"Juvia, gotta go!" Gray smiled. Then he realized something. "Hey, you didn't even get to tell me what you were going to say! Let's meet again tomorrow, ayt?"

"It's okay." Juvia said. 'No, it's definitely not okay.' "It's not important anyway." Juvia tried to hide her sadness and faked a smile.

"Oh. Bye!" Gray said and dashed off to Enno's direction.

Juvia just watched Gray kiss Enno's cheek. She whispered something to his ear that made him smile widely. Gray carried Enno on his back and ran towards his car.

'How stupid of me to think that I have even a small ounce of chance.' She hid her face in her hands. "Stupid, stupid Juvia."

* * *

Thanks to everyone who gave their reviews for the previous chapters! Positive criticisms are mostly welcome! :) Have a good day!


	4. Sorry

"Tch. Here ya go."

Gajeel shoved the ice cream he was holding to Juvia's face.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia exclaimed as as she wiped the coffee-flavored ice cream off of her nose.

"Whatever. Just go ahead and eat it."

Juvia stared at Gajeel for some time before speaking. "For me? What's it for?"

"Nothin'. I just had some spare change. 'S all."

She frowned.

"Fine." Gajeel started. "You looked like you needed some cheerin' up. You got that stupid look on your face again. Last time I saw you like that was last week when you saw stripper with Enno."

Juvia frowned. Gajeel really did know her well.

"Thank you, Gajeel-kun." She sat on the bench beside the ice cream truck.

"Well, wanna talk 'bout it?"

She stared at him, surprised by what he just said.

"Y'know what, changed my mind. Let's not talk 'bout it. Go talk to Levy or somethin'. But remember this, Juvia. If that stripper makes you cry again, intentional or not, I'll break his face."

"No need for that, Gajeel-kun." Juvia said softly as she hugged her best friend's arm. "I plan on being just friends with Gray-sama after the dance anyways."

Gajeel raised his brows at the what she said. "Tch." He decided to drop the subject, shock still evident in his face because of what Juvia just told him.

* * *

"Remind me again why all the girls are more excited about the dance than the actual graduation?" Natsu said as he scanned the rows of neck ties in front of him.

"It's 'cause they all wanna dance with me." Loke grinned at them.

Jellal looked at Loke pointedly.

"Whoah there, lover boy, your girl's all yours." Loke feigned surrender.

"Where's Gajeel? How come we got dragged into this without him?" Gray asked while he fitted a black coat on.

"He told me he was gonna talk to Juvia 'bout something." Natsu chided in.

"She's been weird lately. You know, reverting to her old speech pattern. She only does that when something's bothering her." Gray's brows furrowed.

Jellal, Loke, and Natsu shot each other a look.

Loke mouthed a 'Wow, he noticed.' to Natsu and Jellal before snapping his head back to what he was doing when Gray glanced at his direction.

Just then, a very disgruntled Gajeel entered the suit shop followed by a grinning Erza. The four other guys snickered when Gajeel posed as if he was going to punch Erza when she looked to the other side.

* * *

The weeks passed and their graduation followed shortly after. The fresh graduates of Magnolia High were having the time of their lives as they celebrated their journey through high school with dancing, drinking, and more dancing and drinking.

When the music changed to something slow, Juvia decided to take a break. But before she got out of the dance floor, she felt a hand tug her wrist and she got pulled close by the waist. Her hands landed on the chest of the one who pulled her. She lifted her gaze and her eyes were met by none other than the man of her dreams.

"Gray-sama..." she whispered, her face suddenly heating up with the close proximity.

"Hi." Gray smiled at her. He guided her hands to his shoulders and he put both his hands back to her waist.

Juvia glanced around. "Gray-sama, won't Enno-san get mad at Juvia if she sees us like this?", she said, her voice low.

Gray looked at her. "Enno?" He asked. "Don't worry about her. She's very understanding, she knows we're close friends. We decided to end it anyway."

Juvia snapped her head to his face.

"Well, she's going to Edolas for college. You see, she was accepted to a dance company. Cool, right?" Gray said, smiling, as if recalling a fond memory.

"You're not sad about it?"

"A little. Enno's a great girl after all. But we knew this was better for the two of us. Long distance relationship isn't for me after all." He chuckled. "With the distance and everything, we knew it wouldn't work out. That's why we spent most of the last few weeks together. We'll miss each other but I'm sure she'll find a great guy."

Gray's face became serious. "Now, about you. What's wrong with you these past few weeks?"

"Juvia?" She looked down. "Nothing's wrong with me."

"Oh no, you don't fool me. I've known you for a long time and I'm pretty sure something's bothering you."

She bit her lower lip. She stared at his face for a while. Juvia inched her face closer, letting her eyelids drop to close.

She inched her face forward and let her lips touch his.

* * *

Gray snapped himself out of his shock and followed Juvia who ran towards the exit after she kissed him.

He instinctively raised his finger to his lips. 'She kissed me.' He exited the hall and spotted Juvia sitting under a tree, hugging her knees close to her chest with her face propped up on her arms.

He called out to her. "Juvia?" But she didn't move. "Can you tell me what just happened there? And no, don't go telling me that was nothing."

Gray moved closer to her. He held her chin and lifted her face, only to freeze when he saw tears dripping from her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Don't worry, Gray-sama, *sob* Juvia won't *sob* bother you anymore. *sob* This will be the last time." Juvia said to him.

"What?" Gray looked at her. "What the hell are you talking about? You don't bother me. We're friends!"

"That's what I'm saying!" Juvia looked at Gray straight in the eye, with tears still staining her cheeks. "All I'll ever be for you is a friend! I know I can never be more than that! Every single time I tried to come closer, you always brushed me off! You pretend that you don't know how I feel about you! You pretend in front of our friends!" She was still crying. Juvia chuckled bitterly. "But you can't fool me, Gray-sama. I know that you know. You realized it a long time ago. *sniff* All I wanted from you was a clear-cut answer."

"Juvia-" Gray tried, but she cut him off.

"No. No need to explain anything." She wiped the tears off her face. "I get it now. I was so immersed in my own feelings for you that I became blind to the fact that you're never going to love me back. I was blinded by false hope." She stood up, wiping the tears that still fell. 'Stubborn tears.' Juvia thought.

Gray froze at that. He was well-aware that Juvia had an admiration for him. But he didn't know that it was deep for Juvia to call it love.

Lots of things went through his mind. He wanted to comfort Juvia, he wanted to tell her a lot but he was never good with words. That time was no exception.

Out of all the things he wanted to say to her, he only blurted out one thing which seemed to have broken her heart even more...

"...I'm sorry."

* * *

Hi guys! Thanks to all those who gave their reviews for the previous chapters! I love you guys very much! :) By the way, about Enno, I wanted to pair Gray with a dancer (for some reasons haha). Plus, I really like her hair color. :))


	5. Stained

*Bzzt. Bzzt.* Juvia looked at her phone.

_'Hey Juvia! Where are you?_  
_You're missing a lot of fun!'_ \- Cana

Juvia replied to her.

_'I'm sorry, Cana-san. I'm_  
_really not feeling well right  
now. I'm already __heading  
home. Enjoy!'_ \- Juvia

*Bzzt. Bzzt.*

_'What a shame. Get_  
_well, okay? We'll pay_  
_you a visit tomorrow!'_ \- Cana

'I wasn't able to control myself. I let everything loose the moment I looked at his face. Dumb, dumb move.' She sighed deeply for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

Juvia groaned and hid her face in her hands. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Excuse me ma'am? Are you okay?" the old cab driver asked, slight concern tinting his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine." Juvia smiled a little, looking at the old man through the rear view mirror. "Please turn right on the next street and stop in front of the blue house."

The cab driver did as he was told. Juvia paid her fare and went straight to the front door. As she tried to find her keys, she was surprised to see the light in the living room open. What surprised her more was when she tried turning the knob and finding the door unlocked.

'I'm pretty sure I saw Gajeel-kun close the lights and lock the door.' Juvia carefully entered their apartment. 'Maybe Gajeel-kun returned early too?'

"Gajeel-kun?", she called out. Juvia heard some noise coming from the living room. It sounded like... 'The TV? Maybe Gajeel-kun's watching football again?'

"Gajeel-kun?", she called out again, louder this time. "Juvia's here."

She passed the kitchen and walked to their living room and was shocked to see Bora lying on the sofa, clothes disheveled and slightly open, with a bottle of beer in hand.

"Bora-kun?!" Juvia exclaimed. Bora turned his face to look at her, squinting his eyes as if trying to figure out who called him. Seconds later, his eyes widened in recognition.

"Juvia-chan!" He stood up from the sofa and slurred towards her. It was obvious that he was indeed very drunk. He suddenly lost balance and grabbed Juvia's shoulders, tackling her to the ground.

"Ahh!" Juvia shrieked when she fell to the ground with Bora on top of her.

"You know, babe, you're so hot." He said, his face just mere centimeters from hers. Juvia tilted her head to the side, trying to avoid his breath that stank of alcohol.

Bora ran his fingers through her cheek. Juvia shuddered at the contact.

"B-Bora-kun, ...pl-please get off of J-Juvia.", she stammered. "Hmm?" he grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.

"Why?" He arched a brow. "Don't like it when Bora-kun is on top of you and not your Gray-sama?"

"Bora-kun, you're drunk." Juvia tried averting her eyes from him.

He inched his face to her and whispered to her ear, "From now on, I want you to call me Bora-sama."

Bora kissed her below the ear. Juvia gasped at the contact. She tried pushing him off but his weight was pushed all on her.

"Bora-kun!" she tried. "Please get off of Juvia!"

Bora raised his head and looked at her. "I told you..." he started, "You will call me Bora-sama from now on." He slid his hand under her cocktail dress and grasped her thigh.

"No! Bora, stop!"

Bora grabbed Juvia's wrists and pinned it above her head with his hand. The other, he used to touch Juvia's body.

"Gray-sama, save me." she cried, tears streaming from her eyes. She tried wiggling her way out of his grasp but her futile attempts didn't do much.

Bora slapped Juvia hard. He grabbed her chin again and kissed her forcefully, muffling her cries with his mouth. She tried hitting him with her knees.

"Arghh!" he exclaimed when Juvia hit him right on his manhood. His grip on her wrists loosened.

She pushed him off and got up. She ran towards the door but was stopped when Bora pulled her back forcefully by her hair. "Ahhh!" Juvia screamed in pain. Bora threw her back on the floor. "Oh no, you don't, sweetie. You will be mine tonight." he grinned at her maliciously. He grabbed her tube dress by the front and ripped it open, exposing Juvia's bosoms.

Bora cackled madly while Juvia's eyes continued spilling tears.

"NO! GET OFF ME!" She tried standing again but she was locked under his body.

"Now this is what I'm tal-"

***CLANG***

Bora was sent flying to the side only to be picked up again by a strong pair of hands and get thrown to the nearest wall.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HER LIKE THAT!" Gajeel kept spouting curses at Bora who seemed to have lost his consciousness when he was hit with a cooking pan. Gajeel punched and kicked Bora in every part of his body that he can hit.

Juvia sat up and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"Juvia!" Loke came in their house and ran to her. "What- Are you okay?" he took off his coat instantly and covered Juvia's body with it. Loke hugged her when she continued to cry. "Shhh, it's okay now." He ran his hands through her hair.

"Gajeel-kun...", she whispered.

Loke looked at Gajeel and immediately ran to him to stop the guy from actually killing Bora.

"Dude!" Loke grabbed his arm that kept on hitting Bora. "Gajeel! Stop!"

"YOU'RE TELLING ME TO STOP KILLING THIS FUCKING CUNT?! DID YOU SEE WHAT HE-"

He was cut off when Loke stared at him seriously and pointed to Juvia. "She needs you."

Juvia was crying silently, Loke's coat draped over her body. She ran to Gajeel and hugged him.

"Gajeel-kun!"

Juvia kept on crying.

"I'm here now." Gajeel said to her, his hands moving to hug Juvia back. He hadn't noticed that he was shaking from what happened earlier.

Loke put his hand on Gajeel's shoulder. "Take Juvia to her room. I'll take care of this bastard."

"Oh I'm not done with tha-"

"No. I'll deal with him. I'm sparing you from doing something that will get you in trouble." Loke looked at Gajeel and motioned for him to take Juvia to her room. Gajeel helped Juvia up and brought her to her room.

When the two were out of sight, Loke walked over to Bora.

"You fucking fuck!"

Loke kicked Bora so hard in the gut that he began coughing blood.

"That's nothing compared to what you did to her!"

Another kick.

"You stained her you bastard!"

Loke was fuming. Juvia was one of his closest friends. They had became closer when Juvia ran to Loke for advice and comfort about Gray. Then, he came to know more about her. He discovered that she was a sweet, caring, and loving girl. Moreover, Loke held high respect for women, specially those who he knew deserved such respect. the guy in front of him didn't impress him one bit.

Loke inhaled slowly, trying to even his breaths. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Bora, his eyes glinting with killing intent.

"Get out of here now. Never ever show your face to any of us. If I see you anywhere near Juvia, I swear, that'll be the last thing you'd do."

Bora scrambled up to his feet and sprinted out of the house.

Loke proceeded to Juvia's room after making sure to clean the whole mess.

* * *

Juvia was fast asleep when Loke came into her room.

"How is she?"

"She stopped crying before she slept." Gajeel hid his face in his hands. "Arrgh! I wish we came sooner!"

"Dude, don't blame yourself. We didn't have any idea about it."

"I should have known when they told me someone entered the house, Loke. He's the only one out of our group that knows where the spare key is hidden."

Loke glanced at Juvia. "Should we let the guys know about this?"

"She needs everyone but I don't think she'd want to let them know."

"How about Gray?"

"Don't start with that fucker's name. He's the reason why she went home crying."

"Hey, you know Gray. You know how he feels about her. Let's not take this out on him."

"Whatever." Gajeel grunted.

* * *

Hurrow guys! Here's another update. Yep, I hate Bora. T_T Comments are very much welcome! Have a good day! :)


	6. After Quite Some Time

"Bam-baram-bam-bam! Tugsh!" Gray drummed his fingers on the table as he tried singing along with the beat of one of the songs of his favorite band.

Loke just shook his head and set a plate of bacon and eggs on the table. "Here's your food, your royal shitty-ness.", he bowed his head comically at Gray.

"Thank you, crappy servant." Gray raised his head at Loke.

The two just laughed. This was a common occurrence in their apartment. Loke and Gray decided to stick together since start of high school when they moved to Magnolia.

"You goin' to the party?" Gray asked Loke.

"Sure am. Ain't gonna let slip any chance at getting a hot girl." Loke grinned at Gray.

"Remind me again why I even asked? I forgot you're the prince of chastity."

"Says the one who waves his dick at everybody." Loke wiggled his middle finger at Gray's face.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah, fuck you too."

"I know I'm hot, but I don't swing that way."

"Go fuck yourself, Loke." Gray raised a finger at him.

Loke just laughed at Gray's annoyance.

"You know, you still haven't told me what happened after the dance. Everybody seems to be avoiding me when I ask them what happened."

Loke snorted. "Not something I'd tell you. Don't wanna be the one near you when you go rampaging about what happened."

Gray arched a brow. "Doesn't look like something I'd wanna know." He stuffed a mouthful of bacon into his mouth. "Rhow*munch*rheedrhuhrellrrmree".

"Bro, I didn't know you speak Chinese."

Gray swallowed what he was chewing. "I said, no need to tell me."

It was Loke's turn to raise a brow at Gray this time. He decided to let the topic slide.

* * *

It was only a week before their first day in college. A raven-haired man entered the club together with his orange-haired friend. Heads turned, particularly those of women, as the boys made their way to find their other friends.

"Gray! Loke!" Natsu approached the two and bumped fists with them. "Good to see you, guys."

Loke grinned. "Good to see you too, man. It's been what, almost two months?"

"Come to think of it, this is the first and last party we had and will have before start of college." Gray mused.

"At least we had some time to spend with our families before we slip into a hell-hole called a university."

The guys chuckled. Just then, the host of the party saw them and strutted to their direction.

"Yo bros!"

"Hey, Totomaru! Great party right here!" Natsu bumped his fist with Totomaru's.

"What would you expect? That's the party king you're talking about." Gray imitated Natsu's action.

Loke tore his gaze off the women. "Great legs and racks, man! How'd you managed to invite all these hot ladies?"

"I've got connections." Totomaru winked at them.

Just then, "Toto!" A very excited Juvia dashed off and tackled a surprised Totomaru in a hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Ju." He kissed her cheek.

"You know each other?" Loke asked, baffled.

"Loke-san? Natsu-san?" Juvia's eyes widened. "I missed you guys so much!" She let go of Totomaru and engulfed Natsu and Loke in a hug, the two gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I didn't know you'd be here!" She backed a little bit to look at their faces. "You know Toto?"

"Yeah, we play football with him." Natsu smiled at her.

"Gajeel-kun and I are childhood friends with Toto." She explained. "It's great to see you here!" She hugged them again. When she released the two from her grip, she spotted Gray who just raised a brow at the scene in front of him. The girl immediately looked away and dragged Totomaru away, babbling about showing her their other friends. The awkwardness didn't go unnoticed by Loke and Natsu but decided not to act on it.

Gray, on the other hand, frowned the moment she got away.

Loke put his hand on Gray's shoulder. "Let's just enjoyed the night, man."

Gray nodded, the frown still on his face.

* * *

The teenagers in the club partied their way through the night. Drinking, dancing, playing beer pong and strip poker, grinding their bodies with each other. To say that they were drunk would be the understatement of the year. They were hammered!

It was past two in the morning when Juvia decided to go home, having remembered that she needed to bring her stuff to their new apartment. Unlike the others, the blunette didn't get herself wasted because first, she didn't have high tolerance for alcohol, and second, she was going to drive herself home. But of course, she wasn't able to totally get off the hook and ended up being tipsy, thanks to her drunkard of a friend, Cana.

She was currently untangling herself from the brunette and tried standing up, tripping on Levy's foot in the process. She landed face-first on the floor slightly snapping Levy from her babbling. Said drunk girl stirred to her left and hugged Gajeel's arm. Juvia smiled at that. Gajeel may not admit it but it was totally obvious that he likes her.

Juvia stood up and rubbed her aching nose. She decided to look for Totomaru before leaving, wanting to bid goodbye first. She looked around and spotted him sitting by the bar, being one with very high alcohol tolerance, still drinking with his friends from Oak Town High. She walked to where he was and he stood up when he saw her. Totomaru pulled Juvia and introduced her to his friends.

"Hey Ju, these are my friends from Oak High. Hibiki, Eve, and Ren." He pointed to each one of them. "And this one's Lyon." Totomaru pointed to the guy with silver mane. "Guys, this here is my sexy special friend Juvia." Juvia just slapped his shoulder playfully when he winked at the guys when he mentioned the word special.

Lyon took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you too." Juvia smiled cheekily.

Hibiki, Eve and Ren smiled at her.

"These guys are my football teammates. Stay away from them, Ju. they're big-ass perverts." Totomaru snickered and the three semi-shouted in protest while Lyon just chuckled at their behavior. Juvia just laughed at them and told her new friends that she had to go. Juvia kissed Toto's cheek and he did the same to her. She waved to the others and proceeded to the exit.

The alcohol started taking its toll on her and she began wobbling down the path. Just when she was about to slip, she felt a pair of arms grab her by the waist to steady her. She glanced up to see a smiling Lyon holding her.

"Let me drive you home."

Juvia shook her head and rubbed her eyes to try and ease herself of her tipsiness. After blinking a few times, she realized that she was in no shape to be driving.

'Well, he's Toto's friend and he doesn't look like he has anything up under his sleeves.'

"Okay. My house is near anyway."

Lyon just smiled at her and guided her to the exit of the club.

* * *

A very drunk Gray drank his nth cup of alcohol after he lost a round of beer pong against his long time best friend/rival. He excused himself after to go to the restroom to empty his bladder.

"Later *hic* flame-brain. I need to *hic* pee."

"Shoor~ icesh prinshesh." Replied a very much drunk Natsu.

Gray made his way to the washroom and took care of his business. He washed his face after to rid himself of some of the drunkenness. The moment he got out of the restroom, he caught sight of an awfully familiar and irritating man with silver hair.

'What's Lyon doing with her? So irritating.' He battled with his drunk thoughts. 'It's Lyon so it's irritating. He's always irritating.'

But the way he held her by the waist made him want to punch the shit out of him. 'Pssh. Lyon and his fucking flashy attitude.' Gray narrowed his eyes and stomped towards the exit. He suddenly remembered that he needed to bring his things to their new apartment later that day. He walked out of the club and decided to go home.

* * *

Lyon closed the door after Juvia entered her car and walked to the driver's side and did the same, she gave the keys to Lyon. She pulled out a card from the glove box and gave it to him.

"Lyon-kun, this is my address."

Lyon took it and started the engine. "You live with Gajeel, right? I've been there once."

Her eyes widened a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah. We watched football at your house before, Brazil versus Argentina?" Lyon tried to recall.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "I remember! You guys were the douches who emptied our food cupboard!"

The two laughed at the memory. "Sorry. I didn't recognize you."

Lyon smiled. "Nah, it's okay. You can rest. I'll wake you up when we get there."

Juvia nodded, smiling.

The moment she laid back on the seat, sleepiness washed over her. She turned her head to the window and the last thing she saw was a scowling Gray entering his own car.

'It's been a while since I last saw him.' Juvia closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

'It's been a while since I last saw her.' Gray started the engine and drove off to his house.

* * *

Hi! Thank you for the reviews on the past chapters! You guys are awesome! Let me know your thoughts about this chapter! :)


	7. Meeting Again

***BEEP!* *BEEP!***

Gray awoke to the sound of cars honking their damned horns from both sides. He was about to curse the living shit out of each of them when he realized that he was still inside his car, in the middle of the street in front of the gates of his house.

"What the fuck." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Holy shit."

He instantly got out of his car to open the gates and scurried his auto into his garage. He stomped towards the living room and plopped himself on the couch. The raven-haired teen glanced up to the clock, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets seeing that it was already past nine in the morning. "What the actual fuck? I've been asleep in my car for seven fucking hours?!"

Gray groaned as he stood up. He scratched the back of his head and decided to load his things on his car. Loke had already transferred his share of stuff to their new apartment. Said friend gave him the address to their new home before they went to the party the night before.

* * *

As Gray drove through the gates of their new apartment, he noticed four things. One, it was not just an apartment, it was an apartment complex. Two, it was huge. Three, it was freaking huge! Four, it was so... so... huge. Inside were five separated mini-apartments with a garage fit for two cars for each unit, the middle flat being larger than the other four. He parked his sports car in front of the unit labeled A, as indicated in the address Loke gave him, carefully so as not to damage the graduation gift his mom and dad gave him.

'Who's gonna pay for this again?' Gray thought. 'It's basically a mansion! I mean, not mansion-mansion but a two-people-mansion.' He debated with his inner thoughts. Gray face-palmed himself and realized that surely, they weren't the only two who were going to live there.

"Stupid Loke. Told him to find a unit where we'd be comfortable. Who knows what kind of neighbors we'll have?"

He unloaded his luggage and carried them to his room. Inside the house were two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen with a fridge already stocked with food (Gray took an apple and ate it), and a very spacious restroom. He entered the first room, seeing there were clothes on top of the bed, Gray presumed that it was Loke's and proceeded to the next one.

'Not bad. But really, who's gonna pay for all of this? Ul's gonna kill me if she finds out I live in a high maintenance apartment.' He set his things on the floor and opted to rest for a while. Gray sat on a bean bag placed near the window. He decided to kill some time and played music on his phone.

A few minutes passed and he saw a pick-up enter the complex and park in front of the house parallel to their unit. Out came a girl wearing denim shorts, a large white tee, a beanie, a pair of sunnies, finished with a pair of black boots.

'Nice legs.'

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Gray slapped his forehead. "Why am I being perverted at such an early hour of the day?" He thought aloud.

The girl went to the back and started unloading travel bags from her car. That's when Gray thought that she must also be new there. He saw that the girl was having a hard time carrying her bags off the truck and pondered on helping her unload her stuff. He was about to sit back and relax and just ignore the girl when the image of an angry Ul crossed his mind. Thoughts of how his mom would probably throw shoes at him and scold him if she was there to witness his son's gentle-manliness, or the lack there of. He shuddered by merely thinking about all the possible sneakers that would be thrown to his face if he didn't get up that instant.

Going by his better judgement, Gray dragged his sorry ass out of the apartment unit and jogged towards the girl.

'Hmm. Blue hair. Kinda like Juvia's.' He absentmindedly thought.

As he neared the girl, he called out to her. She didn't seem to have heard him and that's when he saw the earphones that the girl was wearing. He approached her and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, Miss. Want me to help you wi-"

The moment the girl turned around, they both froze.

"Gray-sama?!" - "Juvia?!"

The two exclaimed at the same time.

Gray was the first to compose himself. He scratched the back of his head and offered to help Juvia in carrying her luggage inside. Juvia agreed and Gray thought that moment will surely make it to his awkward moments list. The two never spoke a word to each other the whole time, except for the few sorry-s and excuse me-s whenever they unintentionally bumped into each other or the the like.

Once they were done, Juvia offered to make some tea for him so he slouched on the couch in the living room. The boy noticed that their unit was pretty much the same with Juvia's. He also noticed that there were bags in the other room which led him into thinking who Juvia's flatmate is.

"Here's your tea, Gray-kun." Juvia handed him a tea cup and sat on the other end of the couch. "If I may ask, what are you doing here, Gray-kun?"

He sipped his tea and looked at the girl. "I transferred my things to the flat in front of yours. Loke and I will be living there."

He noticed the slight widening of her eyes. "Loke-kun told us that he'll be living here with us but he didn't mention that you're going to be his roommate." She said after sipping from her tea cup.

Gray arched a brow at that. "Who exactly is 'us'?" He quoted with his fingers.

"Uhhm, Erza-san, Cana-san, Levy-san, Lucy-san, Mira-san, Gajeel-kun, Jellal-kun, Loke-kun, Natsu-kun, and Laxus-kun." She recalled.

Gray looked incredulously at Juvia. "What?" He asked her, not quite digesting what she had just said. Sure, Gray would like to spend time with his friends every now and then, but to actually live with them in the same area?! He couldn't even fathom how many possible parties there'd be in their complex.

Juvia tilted her head and looked puzzled.

"I wasn't even informed about this!" Gray sighed, kind of exasperated at the moment. "Think of all the parties that would take place. And who would even pay for all this shit?" Gray was already spouting nonsense crap at Juvia.

"Gray-kun." She called. It seemed he didn't even hear her and just kept babbling about how his mother would kill him if he spends too much money for non-academic stuff.

"Gray-kun!" She called again. He still didn't hear her.

"GRAY-KUN!" She shouted.

Gray stopped talking and looked at her. A frown was settled on Juvia's face. "Didn't Loke-kun tell you? These flats are actually Makarov-san's. He decided to let us all live here for free since it's near the university. Besides, he's going to stay in Fiore for a while, and he also kinda mentioned we're already like family to him."

Gray's brows arched. "Oh." Juvia smiled at his realization.

Suddenly, she remembered something pretty important and her smile faltered.

'That's right, I should be avoiding him. Yet, here I am, talking to him as if there's nothing going on between us.'

Juvia's smiled disappeared totally. 'Well, there really isn't anything going on between us.' She felt a pang of hurt in her chest because of the thought.

"You can leave now, Gray-kun."

Gray noticed Juvia's sudden change of mood. However, going against his better judgement, he decided not to ask about it. He wasn't the type to pry with other people's business after all.

He stood up rather fast and ended up getting dizzy. Maybe it was because of the sudden motion, or having not eaten anything yet, or maybe the copious amount of alcohol that he downed the night before, he didn't know. He sat back down again, extending his hand to hold on to Juvia for support. He tried to blink a few times to shake the dizziness away. When his vision returned to normal, he realized that his hand landed on her thigh. He quickly retracted his hand and waved it frantically.

"I'm sorry!-I wasn't-I didn't-" He tried to explain so Juvia won't take the action the wrong way. But when he looked at her, instead of the fantasizing Juvia that he was expecting, he was greeted with her reddening face, her mouth slightly open from the small gasp that escaped her lips, with tears already threatening to fall from her blue eyes.

Gray panicked. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He tried to soothe her, seeing that she was still looking at him wide-eyed, her breathing heavier than usual.

Juvia tried to even her breathing before speaking.

"Get out, Gray-sama." The blunette told him, her breath still coming out in heavy puffs.

"Hey, wait. We're you upset about that?" He tried, confusion engulfing his mind. Surely she wouldn't be upset about something that shallow, she was close with lots of guys for Mavis's sake! "I didn't mean to-"

"Please get out, Gray-sama." Juvia looked at him, seemingly scared this time.

Gray tried to speak again but decided against it. He stood up and walked to the door, sparing one last worried glance at Juvia before closing the door and leaving her unit.

'What the hell just happened?' Gray thought, confused and worried.

'Why did she look so scared of me?!'

* * *

I don't know if I'll be able to update soon after this. My exams are already starting to eat me up. T_T

Well, here's another chapter! Comments, questions, and criticisms are mostly welcome. Have a nice day!


	8. Misunderstood

"I GIVE UP!" Juvia exclaimed, the frustration finally getting to her nerves. The blunette slammed her thick book shut. She took off her reading glasses, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Juvia, can you keep it down? It's already fucking three in the morning." Groaned a sleepy Cana.

"That's exactly the point, Cana-san!" Juvia turned to look at her roommate and pouted at her. "I've been studying for ten straight hours now. But I still don't understand anything!" Juvia pulled her hair, seemingly venting out her frustrations on her poor blue tresses.

"Hey, stop that." Cana gave her a pointed look. "Maybe it's because you're putting too much effort into it, that's why you can't understand it."

Juvia looked at her friend, not really understanding what she just said. The brunette just rolled her eyes at Juvia. "I mean, after hours of going to your classes from 8 in the morning 'til 5, you didn't even stop to eat dinner and just proceeded to load your mind with tons of bullshit that I'm pretty you won't be able to understand because of info overload." Juvia just pouted at her.

"Oh, come on Juvia. Give your mind a little rest, will you?" The blunette nodded at her. "Now let's go upstairs and actually sleep on our comfy beds. You know, it's really not that fun sleeping here in the study room." Juvia picked up all of her study materials and proceeded up the stairs following Cana. "Thank you for staying with Juvia the whole night, Cana-san." Cana turned around and gave her a sleepy smile.

"Anything for you, roomie."

* * *

The next morning, Juvia was wakened by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She wiped her sleepy eyes and turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall.

"**11:16**"

"WHAT THE -?!" The blunette scrambled to her feet but instead, she ended up tangling herself with the sheets and landing butt-first on the floor. "Freakin' stupid alarm didn't work again! I'm so late!" Juvia groaned loudly.

"Hey Juvia? You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine!" Juvia shouted from her spot. She got up from the floor and opened the door only to be greeted by an unlikely face.

"Loke-san?" Juvia raised her brows. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

Loke tilted his head and gave her a questioning look. "Juvia, it's a Saturday."

Juvia stared blankly at him.

"Oh."

Her eyes widened in realization and muttered another 'OH' at him.

"You just gonna stand there with your mouth open like a fish?" He ruffled her already tangled hair. "Come on. Get moving. Take a shower already, will you?"

"Huh?" Juvia answered dumbly.

"So you forgot? We're gonna buy groceries for the barbeque later, remember?"

"Oh!" Juvia's eyes widened for the second time that day. "I'll take a bath now! I'll be downstairs in a minute!"

Loke just chuckled at her and descended the stairs.

* * *

Gray's mom was going to visit them that day so the gang decided to have a grill party that afternoon even though she insisted that they really don't need to prepare anything for her.

The car ride to the grocery was awkward, to say the least. Loke brought his girlfriend with them. Which meant that Gray had to sit beside Juvia at the back of the car.

When they arrived to the grocery, Loke immediately dashed off with his lady leaving the two to take care of the shopping by themselves. At first, they tried to stay away from each other but Juvia couldn't handle it anymore.

She stopped walking and poked Gray's back. "Gray-sama.", she shyly called him.

"About that time when you helped me with my stuff, I'm sorry." Gray took a moment to process what she was saying. "I didn't really mean to act rude to you." her eyes were downcast. "i don't even know why I only reacted to you.", she barely whispered the last part, more to herself than to Gray.

_Come to think of it, I don't react that way when other guys hug or touch me. It's not like it was Gray-sama's fault that I was harassed. _She thought to herself. Juvia was beginning to be confused about her own actions. She tried to shrug it off.

"Oh. No biggie. T'was my fault anyway." Gray smiled at her.

Juvia turned her back on him to hide the color that was starting to spread to her cheeks.

"Well, since we're actually to each other now, how 'bout we call it a truce?" Gray asked. "I mean, we're college now so might as well act like it, right? Let's start over as friends again."

Juvia willed herself not go slack-jawed at that moment. "Yes, we should forget about the stupid things we did on high school. Let's be friends again."

"No more awkwardness?" He gave her a calculating look.

The blunette raised her brows at him. "Yup! That would be great."

He draped his hand over her shoulders. "Nice! And now that we're on it, are you free tomorrow, lunch?"

Juvia gave him a look of uncertainty but Gray was looking at the items on the shelves as they continued their grocery shopping. She gave him a tentative answer. "i think so."

Gray faced her. "Great! I was dying to let you meet my girlfriend!" He went on about his plans for the next day and totally missed the way Juvia's happy demeanor changed to disappointment.

_So he really doesn't understand my feelings for him._

.

.

.

"Yes, that's great Gray-...sama."

* * *

I'm sorry for this sucky update. I wanted to put a transition period somewhere and unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite well. Anyway, I welcome myself back to this wonderful world of writing! I'm very sorry for not posting an update for quite some time. I'm under an engineering degree program and it's really not as easy as it sounds. Does it even sound easy? To say that the exams I took for this first month (YES WE ALREADY HAVE FREAKIN EXAMS JUST AFTER AUGUST) were difficult would be a HUUUGE UNDERSTATEMENT. TT_TT Well anyway, about them transferring to the 'villa', just imagine that the university is kind of far from where they studied high school so they needed to transfer to a house near the area. Kinda like a dorm but it's outside the campus.

Let me know your thoughts about this chapter! :)


	9. Someone Else

Juvia politely excused herself from the table and rushed to the washroom. The blunette locked herself up in a cubicle and quietly reprimanded herself for even agreeing to this stupid date.

Well, not that she actually minded it. Lyon had been nothing but a gentleman all throughout the evening. Actually, she would be lying if she said that she didn't like the setup; perfect place (undoubtedly lavish at that), great food and wine, plus she received a really fabulous designer gown from Lyon for this "special" occasion. And, she can't deny the fact that Lyon was downright handsome that night. It was valentine's date after all. Juvia had a clear idea why Lyon didn't even think twice about spending this much for her. Guaranteed that he was rich, but he wasn't subtle about his feelings either so the whole thing didn't really come off as a surprise. Well, sort of. Who wouldn't be surprised when someone sends you a package with a gown made by your favorite fashion designer? And they were still in college, mind you.

So, what exactly made her call such a perfect setup a "stupid date"?

Easy.

None other than her stupid crush having a date with his stupid girlfriend in the same place she was. To top it all, the woman came up to their table, dragging Gray in the process, and greeted her like a friend. Like nothing was wrong between them! _The nerve! As if I'm friends with her_. But, who was she kidding? That's exactly what Gray's girlfriend must be thinking when Juvia acted all buddy-buddy with her when the man of her dreams introduced her to the woman of her nightmares not several months past.

_I don't even get why Gray-sama likes her! What does she have anyway? She's tall, and slim, I get it. But nothing's eye-catching! __It's not like her hair is perfectly dark and straight. What's so special about her flawless skin anyway? And don't even get me started on those perfect set of white teeth. And her fantastic smell. And oh, so what if she's one of the top students in her university? And it's not like her being athletic adds up to her perfection. She's not even charming in any way! _

"UGGHH!" Juvia released a groan of frustration. She hated that girl. No, she L-O-A-T-H-E-D her. How dare she steal her Gray-sama from her? Just because she's evidently perfect doesn't mean Gray would fall head over heels for her.

_Except that he already did._

She released another groan. After a while of trying to compose herself (and failing miserably), she exited the cubicle and stood in front of the mirror to fix herself. As she went out of the lavatory, she was surprised to see Lyon standing a few meters from the door seemingly waiting for someone. As she approached him, he looked up and met her with raised brows.

"I knew you were going to react the moment you saw them but I didn't know it would take you half-an-hour." He flashed her a teasing smile.

Juvia gave him a baffled look. Was she in there for thirty minutes? She gasped and bowed in front of him to apologize for taking so long.

"I didn't realize that I was in there for that long! I'm so sorry Lyon-sama! Please forgive Juvia!"

As she continued to apologize, she totally missed the momentary look of surprise that crossed the silver-haired man's features. _So it's Lyon-sama now, huh?_

He wasn't able to conceal the smile that adorned his lips. He was making progress after all. At least, that's what it looked like.

He grabbed Juvia's shoulders to stop her from doing what she was doing. "Let's just go back and enjoy the rest of the night, okay?"

Juvia looked up at the man in front of her and nodded to him. _Seems like a good suggestion. Wouldn't want to waste everything Lyon planned for that night._

He gave her another smile and proceeded back to their table. She followed suit and was surprised to see Gray and his girlfriend Ultear seated just a couple of tables away from them. She tried to suppress her rage as she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her date.

Juvia blushed at the thought.

_Well, if Gray-sama is allowed to flirt with someone in front of me, I sure as hell can also do the same._

But of course that was just a thought. She wouldn't so much as try to include Lyon in this chaotic relationship. Though as much as she hated to admit it, she was the reason it became like that at all... and she was sure that it was only chaotic in her side. Gray was totally convinced that Juvia didn't like him now.

She was snapped from her trance when Lyon asked her to dance with him. Being the oh-so gentleman that he was, he actually got down on one knee and asked for her hand. Juvia instantly reddened at the gesture. Nonetheless, she took his hand and let Lyon lead her to the dance floor.

If it was possible, she flushed darker when Lyon snaked his hands around her waist. She placed her hands on his shoulders and let her body sway to the music.

She looked at Lyon and saw that he was looking at her with a fond smile on his lips. The lights were dim on the dance area which made her doubt if Lyon really had a tinge of red on his cheeks or if it was just a trick the lights played.

* * *

Juvia stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. For the first time, she found herself thinking about another guy instead of Gray. Yes, she had a fair share of crushes in the past but none of those were even remotely close to what she felt for Gray. But now that she thought about it, Lyon wasn't just playing around. He was genuine in so many ways. She somewhat dreaded where her thoughts were heading, that maybe she only chased after Gray because he was the only one whom she had an attraction to but never returned her affections. Come to think about, she realized that the feelings she had for guys she liked before totally vanished the moment they started liking her back.

Those thoughts felt sickening to her.

What if what she felt for Gray wasn't real?

What if she was only deluding herself? That what she felt for him wasn't love at all?

Lyon's genuineness made her think about all of those things.

And all of this just because Lyon treated her like she was so special, just because he drove her to her house because she was a little tipsy due to the alcohol she consumed when she ranted to him, just because it was so easy to talk to him about what Bora did to her, just because she saw rage in his eyes when she told her about her douche of an ex, just because she felt a heavy load off of her chest when she shared to him about that unfortunate night, just because he so willingly talked to her about her lingering feelings for Gray because he knew it would make her feel better if she shared it with other people, just because he genuinely comforted her when she cried to him about her failure in trying to move on from Lyon's raven-haired best friend, just because he so romantically kissed her on the cheek (ON THE CHEEK BUT WHY WAS SHE FEELING THAT WAY) after he walked her to her door, and JUST BECAUSE.

Was she shallow like that? Was she shallow because her "love" for Gray was swayed just because someone kept on trying to get her attention even though she openly declared that Gray was "the only one"? Was that shallow at all?

Maybe Gray did deserve to be happy... not with her but with another girl. With someone who can make him happy. Maybe with someone like Ultear?

Juvia was totally frustrated about all of the thoughts she's having. She couldn't sleep at all even with the amount of drinks she downed. She knew it was a downer for Lyon but he didn't show her any sign of disdain for having totally made that night all about Gray when it was supposed to be about him and Juvia.

Well...

Maybe Lyon deserved a chance.

He totally did. It's just that she was too blinded by her feelings for Gray that she didn't bother to let anyone in.

* * *

Hi! I'm trying to update now since I still have some time in my hands. In a few days, I'll be having another exam (BUMMER) and I need to prepare for it.

About Lyon, he's sort of OoC here since in the manga, he was depicted as someone who acts all lovey-dovey with Juvia since the day he saw here. But here, imagine him as a somewhat reserved person but really charming and charismatic. He's also very classy. He's not like a lost puppy that just follows Juvia around. I'd like Lyon to be serious about his feelings for Juvia. And in no way does he treat this setup as a competition between him and Gray (even though Gray doesn't like Juvia in this part of the story). Again, OoC, but I still love Lyon as he is.

Comments are very much welcome! I'd like to ask a favor from you guys, though. I have a compilation of one shots, it's still short now but I'm working on those short fics. And if you have time, can you drop a review or two, or maybe a pm if you don't want to post a review on it? It would be very nice to have feedback from readers so I'd know how to improve myself. Thank you! :)


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